Albafica blinked slowly before moving so that his head wasn't
facing Hunter anymore. It wasn't that he was disinterested, on the
contrary he was concerned about those who got captured. Kasu said
that it was part of a plan but he still doubted how safe it was.
Anyways he wanted to figure this mystery out as soon as
possible.
Nodding in mock understanding, Aino stretched his wings with a
yawn. "That's what Kasu told us. Bo-ring. I hoped you had more to
tell." He drawled, hopping up to the lip of the fountain and
squinted at Hunter. "Oh well. Maybe I overestimated you."
"As you say." Hunter shrugged, staring into the eyes of the other
Pokémon. Then he turned away, thinking. "I wish I had more to tell
too." The Lucario muttered. Leaning forward, he mulled over the
events of the day silently, staring at the ground in front of his
feet.
4. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Katu disappeared into the berry market, not much interested in more
talking with how bad her head was. After accidentally spilling over
some honey, she managed to find a bag she could carry. She loaded
it with a few berries and some milk (for her headache) and dragged
the when thing back to the fountain (only after she'd eaten a good
amount of the food herself, since she could only bring a dozen
berries and two bottles of milk).
She didn't meet anyone on the way, which she was thankful for. Katu
didn't think she would be able to fight anyone with a bag dragging
her down.
Rising from the water, Albafica cocked his head before nodding in
appreciation. Stretching his body out of the water, the Milotic
thankfully nuzzled the Espeon before floating in the sky to
observe. His scars still hurt but it was more bearable with the
help of the water steadily dropping off his body.
Sighing in resignation that he'll get nothing more, Aino hopped
into the ground to look at Hunter. "What a sorry sight." He shook
his head before whacking him with a wing. Provided that it was a
wing with cotton like feathers always pristinely kept it didn't
hurt at all. "You did the best you could right? Then be proud that
it was only two who were captured. Not three. Not more." Huffing,
he looked over to Katu. "And you. You should rest instead of
pushing yourself this hard. It's bad form for any Pokemon to bring
themselves this low."
Hunter looked at Katu. "Thanks." He nodded, gabbing a berry. He
chewed thoughtfully. "Hey, you should probably rest or...
something." The Lucario added, feeling bad about letting her go and
get food for them. Then he went back to thinking. He looked at
Aino. "Perhaps. Perhaps." He muttered.
4. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Katu tilted her head, considering Aino's words. She hadn't thought
of that before - honestly, a lot of Pokemon she'd seen were far
worse off. Life in the arena didn't get very good, even for
Kanwyn's prized champion. There were several times she had been
beaten up.
"The humans..." Hunter muttered. "They had to be here for a reason.
They only left once..." He paused to think some more. What had
caused them to leave? The fact that they'd been attacked by a bunch
of Pokémon? Or the fact that they'd caught two of the ones that had
attacked?
"And as for where they went..." He muttered to himself, remembering
the portal. "It can't be nearby, that's for sure. So we find more
humans. Take whatever they used to open the portal off them." He
said idly.
4. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
"A good plan as any." Katu agreed. "You're right, there's no way
they're nearby. Those portals looked nothing like our forest, or
any forest in this region. This fog might be more widespread than
we suspected."
That was a terrible thought. So many Pokemon and humans, all
asleep... It was already half a day. How much longer could they
last without water, or would the fog preserve them somehow from
death?
Hunter nodded wearily. Coming up with a plan was all well and good.
Carrying it out would be another matter entirely. Who knew when the
humans would come back? And the constant shadows he kept seeing in
the fog were driving him a bit crazy. With a sigh, he allowed
himself to slip down off the rim, so now he was sitting on the
floor while leaning against the fountain. He closed his eyes,
frowning. After a moment, he began humming very quietly to himself
to calm his nerves.
4. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Tenshi, hearing Blaze, made her way over to him. "What are you
doing?" She whispered "This isn't what we came here to do." She
glanced at the Butterfree. "I also find it funny that you
complained to me about bullying, but that is clearly what you're
doing." She jumped up and slapped the pidgey out of the air and
pinned it down. "And just what are you doing?"
They Pidgey let out a startled squeak. "We were just playing."
"No you were attacking me!" The Butterfree shot back. "Thank you
Absol!" It quickly flew away, before any of the land bound Pokemon
could attack it.
"What? I thought he agreed to it!" Blaze squirmed. "Wait! I'm
sorry!" He yelled, although he didn't chase after the Butterfree.
"Uhh... Hey Absol, do you think the Butterfree hates me now?" He
asked, ears flattened. "I really didn't know... I thought they were
chasing him for reverse tag...".
Katu flicked her ear, listening to Hunter's lullaby. It was very
soothing, even if she didn't want to admit it.
Blaze thought about the question for a few seconds, knowing that
saying the truth - that he was too busy playing with the nice
Pokemon and humans - would probably annoy the Absol. "I saw them
take me here. So I know the way, I think." Blaze answered. "And I
think the Cottonee with me has seen lots!" He added. "He's been
here for a few months. Hey, wait, lemme call him!"
"End!" Blaze shrieked, bolting off. He came back a few minute
later, panting and with a Cottonee in tow.
"Hello." The Cottonee said, offering one of his leafy hands to
shake. "I'm End, nice to meetcha. Blaze says you're new here, and
wanted to know more about this here place?" He spoke with a thick
accent that was definitely not local.
"Yes, I wanted to know about the fog. I seems it is putting humans
and pokemon to sleep. And these humans seem to be catching all
pokemon immune. What do you know about that?" Tenshi sat down and
leveled her gaze with that of End's, she needed him to know this
was a serious conversation, if that wasn't obvious already.
"Fog..?" End blinked a few times, confused before he heard the rest
of the Absol's explanation. "Oh, yah mean the sleeping drugs!" He
realized. "They've gone and turned it into a fog now? That was darn
quick of em." He said, mostly to himself. "Yeh got yer head in the
clouds, kiddo. Ah could tell you all ah know bout this dang place
and how it's like and yeh wouldn't be able to get out. Not without
more Pokemon at least. Got too many guards, yeh see. An' some of em
like it here. Got free, nice food and some girl slips us berries
now and then. Can't say ah know as much about this for of yers.
Doctor made it, didn't she? She oughta, with the way she does
things. Ah wouldn't worry too much, yer immune."
"No, I mean how do we stop it?" Blaze asked.
End shrugged as best as he could. "S' far as ah knew, you've gotta
get the cure. Can't say where they keep it cause I don't know."
"We have to gather a bit more than that before we attempt to
escape. And don't call me kiddo." She growled at the cottonnee. She
knew she could destroy the little thing in combat, and she would
prove it now if she had to. But that wasn't the point. She padded
away to explore the yard.
Eventually, Hunter stopped humming and slipped into a form of light
meditation. Waiting, he guessed. The more he thought about the
situation, the more hopeless it seemed. They could wait, sure, but
for how long? How long before they had to move? He didn't
personally like inaction, no matter how many methods he'd come up
with to make it more bearable.
4. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
The Cottonee harrumphed at the growl. "Kids these days, ain't got
no respect for their elders... It's a good thing I ain't gonna tell
you how to get out outside of playtime."
"Hey! End, please wait." Blaze asked.
"Naw, ah've got better thing to do." He snorted, flying away.
"...I didn't know he was that old. Sheesh." Blaze muttered when End
was out of earshot. "I don't get old people. I don't get you
either, Absol, but at least you're not as old as him."
"Should we try to find more humans now?" Katu asked, unsure. She
felt well enough already, but the scars on the Milotic worried her.
She tried not to stare but she still saw them. "Do humans come out
this close to night?" She wasn't sure. She was always asleep by
now, in her small corner of the daycare.